After the Tornado, Joplin Teachers Connect with Students

Piles of rubble and a destroyed home marked by rescue workers in Joplin, Mo after the tornado hit.
(Flickr user: el clinto)

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There's been a lot of joy in just the fact that they have their lives. And it doesn't matter if they've lost nothing, or if they've lost everything, the response is still, 'We're so grateful to have our lives.'

The tornado that churned through Joplin Missouri on Sunday left three schools in rubble. School was out at the time the twister hit, but District officials estimate that 3,000 of Joplin's 7,800 students were in the path of destruction, and many teachers are still trying to account for their students — reaching out, says Kindergarten teacher Susan Moore, "through facebook, phone banks, texting... any way we can." Rich Oppel has been reporting on the search for our partner The New York Times.

Irving Elementary, where Susan has taught for the past 13 years, is in rubble. Across town, Regina Jones teaches first grade at Duquesne Elementary. Her school is intact - and abandoned. Classes have been canceled for the rest of the year.